New dimensions with DERA
New dimensions with DERA
Keywords DERA, Flight simulators
With more than 50 years' experience in developing flight simulators, DERA has extended its expertise from purely advising customers to making its simulation facilities commercially available for the first time from Bedford.
Following a long-standing relationship with the University of Leicester, DERA is helping academic researchers by providing a flight simulation facility using the Real Time All Vehicle Simulator (RTAVS) software harness. Professor Ian Postlethwaite, of Leicester's engineering department, is using DERA technology to investigate integrated flight control systems for improved performance,reduced pilot workload and higher fuel efficiency.
Generally RTAVS simulators are used for a variety of different applications,from testing the flying properties of new aircraft to full mission rehearsal for existing or future vehicles. It enables the evaluation and assessment of systems to be undertaken in a representative, safe and controlled environment. However,they can be used for any vehicle and any problem, as long as a computer generated maths model can be created. Systems can be added and modifications made.
The added advantage of the RTAVS system is said to be that it is made out of commercial of-the-shelf (COTS) materials so costs are kept to a minimum.
It is also considered to be very adaptable and flexible and can be controlled through a joystick, a desktop work station or even a full cockpit simulator. The system is reportedly proven not only in single aircraft simulation, but different aircraft models can be used together in numerous scenarios. Additional computers can be incorporated to add new dimensions, for example, measure fuel flow or investigate engine performance and control aspects.
DERA's sales manager Cliff Kimpton said: "It is an expendable system which is very flexible. DERA can not only offer the technology and expertise,but now we are in a position to offer our facilities to the wider market".
It is reported that DERA, which has a number of simulation and synthetic environment facilities, is now looking to provide systems and simulators to other universities and businesses. The simulator's novel capabilities can be tailored to suit customer-specific requirements and budgets.
We are also informed that in another recent project DERA adapted a civil aircraft procedures trainer for use as a research simulator to provide a flexible learning platform for civil/military transport research work.
The LATCH cockpit, operated by the Flight Management and Control Department at DERA in Bedford, is a twin-seat transport aircraft simulator (Plate 1).
Plate 1The LATCH cockpit
Its initial use has been for research into ground handling procedures and low speed handling qualities for supersonic transport aircraft. The LATCH system can be used stand-alone or linked to the other simulation facilities at Bedford,allowing it, for example, to take the role of a tanker aircraft for fast jet simulators in a distributed simulation. The system can also be linked to remote sites.
Fully integrated 4-D flight management system (FMS), autopilot and electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) displays are also available to provide, an enhanced baseline capability for airborne air traffic management research. This,in conjunction with the availability of visual databases for selected European airports, enables representative simulations of civil gate-to-gate operations.
To allow flexibility in providing an instrument panel appropriate to the aircraft configuration there are LCD displays mounted in the instrument panel area for head down display (HDD) use. Each of the HDDs is connected to a PC graphics engine, and the images are generated using standard PC based graphics packages. These are connected to the host using industry standard networking technologies.
Flexibility is also provided by the available inceptor configuration. Either standard control yokes or side arm controllers can be installed to represent different aircraft types.
The outside world scene as presented to the pilot(s) is produced by a computer generated image (CGI) system. This system is described as providing excellent visual representation of the outside world.
All the hardware associated with the cockpit is linked together via a PC based input/output controller. This reportedly allows swift integration of further cockpit hardware and easy software configuration of the discrete elements.
DERA's facility operations manager, Bob Manning, said: "The main advantage of this system is that is very adaptable and uses PC technology. We have an advanced simulation complex at Bedford which offers an adaptable, safe and controlled environment for simulation of all types of man-in-the-loop vehicles, including the largest motion cueing system in Europe".
In a third recent project a medium wave infra red (MWIR) telescope, built and operated by DERA, has reportedly achieved a world first by detecting a non-afterburning aircraft from space at an altitude of over 400km.
This success follows the recent detection of an afterburning jet aircraft and validates the use of space-based infrared technology to detect different types of aircraft in flight through engine signature. This innovative new technology may have the potential to detect aircraft in flight which are not detectable by other means.
The MWIR is one of the principal experiments on the Space Technology Research Vehicle 2 (STRV-2) satellite (Plate 2) which was launched on a Pegasus XL rocket on 7 June 2000.
Plate 2DERA's STRV space mission
The detection of an aircraft from space using only the heat created by the friction of the aircraft flying through the air is thought to represent a world first for the DERA team who built and operate the instrument.
The detection was of a commercially operated Boeing 747 flying over North Kent, which coincided with the spacecraft pass at 418km altitude. In both cases air traffic control radar data have been used to verify that the detections in the images do correspond to real aircraft and are not "false positives".
The MWIR instrument uses two rows of detectors which produce two images separated by a very short period of time as the spacecraft passes over a target. These correspond to the "first" and "second" images in the figure shown. These images can then be subtracted from each other to remove all the background variations in the image. However, fast moving aircraft will appear in slightly different places in the two images and hence will show up as a bright and dark pair of pixels or "dipole" in the subtracted image. This technique is known as "frame differencing" and has the added bonus of indicating the aircraft's direction and speed from the orientation and separation of the dipole. It is the close association of the light and dark pixels that separate the aircraft from other features in the image.
In addition to the primary goal of detecting aircraft from space, the MWIR also has a secondary objective of detecting other objects of military significance, such as shipping. This is said to have already been achieved in several images.
Another function of the instrument is to acquire images of various background types. This will enable DERA to have a better understanding of how different features appear in the IR part of the spectrum. In turn, this will "feed back" into future research, enabling more realistic computer simulations of instrument performance to be created.
Ultimately this will lead to future space based sensors being cheaper and more efficient.
STRV-2 also carries a number of US-sponsored experiments involving laser communications, vibration isolation, radiation monitoring, and electronics testing.
During the next few weeks, the vibration isolation system will be activated. DERA will then be able to determine the improvement in image quality which is obtained when the vibrations due to the host spacecraft are removed. This demonstration is an important test of a method that could lead to improved sensor performance in future instruments.
The MWIR will improve UK understanding of space-based imaging technologies,and the concept has evolved from a long history of collaboration between the UK MoD and US DoD.
Further details are available from DERA. Tel: +44 (0)1252 39 4572; Fax: +44(0)1252 394571; E-mail: jfsale@dera.gov.ukWebsite at http://www.dera.gov.uk
